


Loser ♡

by armethaumaturgy



Category: Elsword (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crimson Avenger - Freeform, M/M, Starbucks, esper is a dork, esper works at a starbucks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-09-13 06:24:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9110452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/armethaumaturgy/pseuds/armethaumaturgy
Summary: He’d thought the guy didn’t like him, and kept purposefully misspelling his name to annoy him. Was he wrong, maybe?





	

**Author's Note:**

> i dont have anything to say expect that i love PSL ✌ ✌ ✌

“Tall caramel white mocha, Erica!”

Smell of coffee hangs in the air; the soft music overpowers people’s chattering just barely. A shadow passes over the counter, gone just as quickly along with its order.

The sun shines its last orange rays in through the large windows. The soft overhead lights are on to compensate, covering everything with their soft glow.

It’s warmer inside, enough for the new customer to unwind his scarf from around his neck. He walks up to the counter, eyes stuck on the sweets display. A cookie or two wouldn’t hurt anyone, right? Well, not counting his poor wallet, of course.

The barista that greets him is a new one. He’s never seen him here before. He’s a little stumped by how incredibly pink the guy’s eyes are.

“Hi, what can I get you?” the barista asks, a practiced line that he says with a sort of chipperness.

He blinks as the man looks at him expectantly, hand hovering over the takeout cups like he’d done it a thousand times already.

“Venti pumpkin spice latte with an extra shot of espresso,” he says.

The barista grabs a venti cup and looks at him again. “Name?”

“Lusa.”

He feels like he’d never been at Starbucks before. Something about this barista, his gaze and the smile always tugging at the corner of his lips, stumps Lusa.

“Anything else?”

“Two chocolate chip cookies and a double chocolate brownie.”

He waits as the barista puts the sweets onto a platter and hands it to him, shuffling to his favorite spot just by the window, a half-wall secluding him from the other table behind him.

He’s just taking a bite out of the brownie, enjoying its rich taste, when the barista leans on the counter and calls out, “Louis, venti pumpkin spice latte, extra espresso!”

‘Not even close,’ Lusa thinks to himself as he stands up to get the drink. Well, the guy is gonna learn his name soon enough if he’ll be working at this particular place.

The barista is smiling at him sweetly, loading the dishwasher with dirty mugs and platters. Lusa can’t help a smile from gracing his own lips, even though the ‘Louis’ on the cup frustrates him a little.

Just a little.

* * *

The next evening, the same guy is there. Lusa gets a cute smile again and grabs a cinnamon bun to go with today’s drink.

“Venti double chocolate chip frappe, Lewis.”

He goes to grab the drink, scowling. Maybe he’s saying the name too fast? The barista hands him the cup with a soft, sweet look.

“Enjoy,” he says and goes to take the order of the next customer.

It leaves Lusa to just sigh and, indeed, enjoy his frappe and cinnabun.

* * *

He says his name much, much slower the next time, and kind of hopes that the barista will get it right this time, because he really likes the guy, and the coffee he makes is truly great.

He patiently waits for the drink to be made — he’d skipped the sweets oday, figuring he’d give his sugar levels (and wallet) a break.

Okay, so he might not be that patient.

The practice had run late because late because two of the players wouldn’t stop bickering and he had to split them apart before they started anything physical.

Why the hell did he take up coaching again?

“Venti pumpkin spice frappe, Lisa!”

Well, that didn’t work, obviously. The barista smiles just as nicely as always, the corners of his magenta eyes crinkling cutely. He even has visible dimples!

Lusa can’t do much than say ‘Thanks.’ The barista chuckles as he turns to leave, and suddenly, it hits him that the guy is probably just making fun of him.

* * *

Oh yeah, he definitely is.

A whole week of stupid names; he didn’t even know his name could be mistaken in so many ways.

The most notable was ‘Lusy.’ It had been, what, two days ago? The barista had always laughed when calling it out, and he couldn’t hide that sly grin of his when Lusa came to get the drinks.

And now, he’s completely at his wit’s end. Today’s misspelling of choice is Louis again, just like the very first time. (He’s not sure why he remembers them all, or why he remembers the days they’d been used, but he does.)

But unlike the first time, there’s a small heart drawn after the name. He takes the drink with him, so he doesn’t see the way the barista blushes and runs to the back to swap with his coworker.

He can’t stop looking at it, though, the entire time he drinks from the cup; basically the whole way home.

What’s it mean?

He’d thought the guy didn’t like him, and kept purposefully misspelling his name to annoy him. Was he wrong, maybe?

He hesitates when he’s done with the drink, hand hovering over the open trashcan with the empty cup.

He sighs.

Instead of throwing it away, he washes the cup with the rest of his dishes. He’s not sure why, but it is… a little cute, he supposes.

* * *

The next day it isn’t the usual new barista, but the girl that had been working there for months already. She looks tired, and as she takes his order, he realizes that he’d grown used to the new guy’s soft smile (and occasionally his quiet laugh). When she gives him either, it feels like something’s missing.

She gets his name right — of course she does, they know each other — but even that feels weird now.

“Hey, Krim?” he calls to her when he takes the cup. He can’ stop frowning.

The redheaded barista turns to him, offering her usual neutral face and a soft ‘Hm?’

“I thought you didn’t do evening shifts anymore? Where’s the new guy?” Lusa asks.

Krim grabs a cloth from behind herself and starts wiping the counter. Lusa’s lucky there’s no one else ordering at the moment, because Krim would definitely ignore him if there were. “I don’t. But you mean Esper, right? He asked me to swap with him today.”

“Oh, I see. Well… hope the rest of the shift is manageable. See ya.”

“Later.”

Even the coffee doesn’t taste as good as before. He barely finishes the drink before he’s tossing the paper cup away.

It takes a moment to register, but he now knows the name of the new barista. Esper… He’s been so focused on his own name that he didn’t even think about the barista’s.

He mentally thanks Krim.

* * *

The day after that, he decides to go see whether the barista is in early. Krim said they’d swapped, so he should be in all day today, logically. It’s barely ten in the morning when he enters the shop.

The sweet smell of pastries is still fresh and tempting him with the premise of chocolatey goodness. His eyes fall from the sweets to the counter, and to the white-haired head behind it.

“Hey,” he greets, “I’ll have a grande chocolate frappuccino with a shot of caramel.”

The boy jumps, immediately going to make the drink. “Anything else?”

“I’ll take the usual smile, thanks.” Lusa isn’t sure what he’s doing until he’s doing it. Well, hearts usually mean the other person likes you. And this guy is really cute, so if this works out and Lusa didn’t make a mistake anywhere, he could score a nice date.

A soft blush creeps up onto Esper’s cheeks and the smile he makes is more embarrassed and sheepish than anything.

“I… thought the heart would freak you out,” the barista mutters, deft fingers pressing the cap onto the cup. He passes it over.

“Nah, I thought it was cute,” Lusa laughs. He leans over the counter so he’s closer to Esper, muttering, “I kept the cup.”

He grabs the cup and leaves after that, calling back a soft, ‘See you tomorrow!’

* * *

He doesn’t know why he thought that Esper would get his name right after that; in retrospect, it makes no sense. They just flirted a little.

“Grande double choco chip with extra espresso, Loser!” Esper calls out, and Lusa can’t help his eyebrows jumping up, clearly saying, ‘Really?’

Esper grins at him before Lusa takes the cup back to his table. He washes the next bite of his brownie with the sugary concoction.

When he sets the cup onto the tabletop, he turns it around. He’s not surprised to see ‘Loser’ written there, but he most certainly is surprised to see another heart and a phone number scribbled underneath it.

Lusa pulls out his phone after a moment of digging in his pocket, and saves the number immediately so he doesn’t run the risk of losing it if he forgets and throws the cup away. He texts the number, just to make sure. He types up a short message.

Lusa, 15:01  
Thanks, Ass

Sure enough, Esper perks up, rummaging through his pocket and pulling out his phone. He looks up at Lusa for a second before glancing back at the screen. He’s typing for a moment before sticking the phone back into his pocket.

Lusa’s vibrates.

**Esper, 15:01**
    
    
    Np, Luisse, wanna go grab dinner after my shift?

**Lusa, 15:02**
    
    
    Ofc, i’ll just wait here.
    U can bring me another brownie too so i don’t starve to death over here
    

**Esper, 15:02**
    
    
    Come and get it??? I’m a barista not a waitress
    

**Lusa, 15:02**
    
    
    How abt being my boyfriend?
    

**Esper, 15:02**
    
    
    You don’t even know my name and you’re asking me out?
    

**Lusa, 15:03**
    
    
    Course i do, esper
    

**Esper, 15:03**
    
    
    Damn.. Fine then.
    But you’re paying for the dinner then. 
    I’m expecting something classy
    

**Lusa, 15:04**
    
    
    How does mcdonalds sound?
    

**Esper, 15:04**
    
    
    I’m swooning
    

**Lusa, 15:04**
    
    
    Ure not.  
     Is that a yes tho?
    

**Esper, 15:05**
    
    
    Fuck yeah, I can go for nuggets any day, any time
    

**Lusa, 15:05**
    
    
    SWEET
    

**Esper, 15:06**
    
    
    Now stop texting me, because if my boss sees me I’m totally getting fired
    

**Lusa, 15:06**
    
    
    Thats fine, im gonna grab the brownie  
     Hearing ur voice is better than texting anyway
    


End file.
